WIDNES 19-year-old Evan Thomas Simons hopes to make his England debut this week – after being named in the 22-man England squad which defends their Students’ Rugby League Four Nations Championships title in Glasgow.

WIDNES 19-year-old Evan Thomas Simons hopes to make his England debut this week – after being named in the 22-man England squad which defends their Students’ Rugby League Four Nations Championships title in Glasgow.

Simons, a student at MMU Cheshire, joins Edge Hill’s Sean McDonald as one of only four North West based players in the squad.

The Widnes teenager, a hooker, is the youngest player in the squad and is rewarded with a first cap after a terrific season for MMU. A former student of Liverpool College, Evan has also represented Halton Hornets.

“We have almost a completely new group of players due to most of last year's squad being lost to Great Britain commitments and graduating,” explained England head coach Gareth Pratt.

“I see this year's Home Nations as a fantastic opportunity for the new crop of players to establish themselves at this level and aim to progress further to the Great Britain squad.

“We won last year's Four Nations Championships and all our staff will be working very hard to prepare the team well to defend their title.”

The tournament kicks off at the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow tonight (Monday) when England face Wales.

England then face Ireland on Wednesday and meet the host nation on Friday.